Rep. Nate Bell's defection from the Republican Party isn't a sign the party is in trouble of losing its majority status anytime soon. It does, however, illustrate growing pains Republicans are going to have to manage.

The debate over Arkansas' status as one of three states that celebrates Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King Jr. on the same day is a stark reminder of just how much the state struggles with its troubled past.

Members of a legislative panel on Wednesday looked at ways to expand Arkansas' open records law so taxpayers can find out more about spending in government contracts and possibly get access to other financial records now held in secret.

The Arkansas House failed Tuesday to renew the state's compromise Medicaid expansion plan, leaving in limbo the future of a program heralded as a model for Republican-leaning states to implement the federal health overhaul.